The assessment of development convergence among post-socialist countries based on selected indices

Abstract

The aim of the paper was to determine development convergence between post-socialist countries and changes taking place in this respect. The research covered the period of 2000-2018 and focused on 25 post-socialist countries (11 EU, 7 East European and 7 Asian states). Statistical methods and econometric models were employed to analyze the HDI, EPI and EFW indices. The research revealed that there is very little convergence among post-socialist countries on social development (ca. 5%), environmental performance (ca. 2%) and economic freedom (ca. 1%). All of the study countries were classified as highly developed (HDI>0.79), and  mostly free” in terms of economic freedom (EFW>0.6). Higher variation was observed for environmental performance, with only 16 countries out of 25 with an EPI>60. The post-socialist EU countries scored higher on the three indices than the other post-socialist nations, though Asian countries registered higher growth rates.